Power closure sensor system and method

ABSTRACT

A power closure sensor system is disclosed. The system includes a data processing device, a closer motor in communication with the data processing device and controlling the movement of a closable member, and a proximity sensor, configured to sense the location of an object. The proximity sensor is in communication with the data processing device. The proximity sensor is configured to communicate the location of the object without the object contacting either the closable member or the frame. The system also includes a position sensor configured to sense the position of the closable member. The position sensor is in communication with the data processing device. Further, the system includes a logic program running on the data processing device and the logic program is configured to generate an estimate of the location of the object relative to the closable member.

REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/236,457, filed on Sep. 29, 2000, the entirety ofwhich is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

[0002] With the advent of powered closure systems, such as, but notlimited to automotive windows, it would be desirable to provide a sensorsystem in which an object, such as but not limited to a person's handwhich is in the closing path of the closable member, such as the window,is able to sense the object within the path of travel of the window andreverse direction of or halt the closing of the window. Reversing thedirection would thereby prevent the hand or other object from beingcaught or pinched by the moving window against the window frame.

[0003] Current systems detect an object either after an object has beentrapped and the motor stalls, or the position of the closure member doesnot change. In such systems the required force may be set too low sothat it will reverse without an actual object in the opening. This iscaused by drag on the perimeter seal or other frictional forces thatcannot be predicted by the system. Other systems may work on current orspeed sensing and therefore have problems similar to the problems listedabove. The majority of systems currently available actually pinch anobject before reversing and in many cases could cause discomfort to aperson or cause damage to an object.

[0004] Accordingly, there is a need for a system that senses an objectbefore the actual point of contact. Further, there is a need for asystem that will not trap an object prior to reversing the closer motor,instead the closer motor will reverse when it detects an object within asensitivity range.

[0005] It would be desirable to provide a system and/or method thatprovides one or more of these or other advantageous features. Otherfeatures and advantages will be made apparent from the presentspecification. The teachings disclosed extend to those embodiments whichfall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether theyaccomplish one or more of the aforementioned needs.

SUMMARY

[0006] An exemplary embodiment relates to a power closure sensor system.The power closure sensor system includes a data processing device and acloser motor in communication with the data processing device. Thecloser motor controls the movement of a closable member relative to aframe. The power closure sensor system also includes a proximity sensorconfigured to sense the location of an object. The proximity sensor isin communication with the data processing device and the proximitysensor is configured to sense the object location when the object doesnot contact the closable member or the frame member directly. Further,the power closure sensor system includes a position sensor. The positionsensor is configured to sense the position of the closable member. Theposition sensor is in communication with the data processing device.Further still, the power closure sensor system includes a logic programrunning on the data processing device. The logic program is configuredto generate an estimate of the location of the object relative to theclosable member.

[0007] Another exemplary embodiment relates to a method of preventing apowered closable member from closing, the closable member supported by aframe. The method includes determining the location of an object using aproximity sensor, the object having no direct contact with at least oneof the closable member and the frame. The method includes determiningthe position of the closable member, and computing the location of theclosable member relative to the object. The method also includesdetermining that the object is within a predetermined range relative tothe closable member and stopping a closing motor from advancing theclosable member.

[0008] Yet another exemplary embodiment relates to a power closuresensor system for a vehicle. The power closure sensor system includes adata processing device and a closer motor in communication with the dataprocessing device. The closer motor controls the movement of a closablemember on the vehicle relative to a frame for the closable member. Thepower closure sensor system also includes a capacitive sensor configuredto sense the location of an object. The capacitive sensor is incommunication with the data processing device, the capacitive sensorenabled to sense the relative location of the object when the objectdoes not touch the closable member or the frame. The power closuresensor system further includes a position sensor configured to sense theposition of the closable member. The position sensor is in communicationwith the data processing device. Further still, the power closure sensorsystem further includes a logic program running on the data processingdevice. The logic program is configured to generate an estimate of thelocation of the object relative to the closable member.

[0009] Alternative exemplary embodiments relate to other features andcombination of features as may be generally recited in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The invention will become more fully understood from thefollowing detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to likeelements, in which:

[0011]FIG. 1 is a depiction of an automotive vehicle door including anobject in the path of travel of a window;

[0012]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a window closure sensor system; and

[0013]FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method of sensing an object in thevicinity of a powered closable member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] A power closure sensor system may be configured to use aproximity sensor to detect objects in the travel path of a window ordoor (for example) and to use a position sensor in the motor or drivemechanism to keep track of the window or door location. The system coulddetermine window or door location and become more sensitive as the powerclosure closes the final gap. Such a system could be applied to any andall power closure devices including the following vehicle applicationsand more: power windows, power sliding doors, power lift gates, powerdeck lids, power hatchbacks, power lift glass, power tailgates, powertrunk lids, power tonneau covers.

[0015] Referring now to FIG. 1, a door 100 is depicted. Door 100 may beany of a variety of doors including, but not limited to those doors andwindows for automotive or other vehicles. Door 100 includes a windowframe 110 which is a portion of overall door frame 120. Door frame 120supports an interior panel 130 having an arm rest 140. Arm rest 140 mayinclude a plurality of control buttons and/or switches 150 forcontrolling such items in the interior of a vehicle such as, but notlimited to powered window opening and closing, power door locks, etc.Door 100 may also include a door lock mechanism 160 and a powered window170.

[0016] Powered window 170 may be controlled by switches 150. A motor orother powered transport mechanism may be included within door 100 hiddenbehind interior panel 130, for example. Closer motor, window motor, ortransport mechanism within door 100 is utilized to move window 170 inthe up or down directions as indicated by arrows 180.

[0017] In operation, an object 190, such as a human body part, or anyother object, may be extending through opening 195 which has beencreated by window 170 being lowered within window frame 110. If anoperator chooses to close window 170, and object 190 remains in theposition shown, or in any other position extending through opening 195,it may be possible that window 170 would pinch or trap object 190between window 170 and frame 110 without the aid of a sensing mechanism.Accordingly, in an exemplary embodiment, a power closure sensor systemis utilized to sense the location of object 190 in relation to window170. In such a situation where window 170 is coming close to contactingand/or pinching object 190 between window 170 and window frame 110, thepower closure sensor system would be utilized to provide a command tothe motor to either halt operation and/or to reverse direction.

[0018] Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of a power closuresensor system 200 is depicted. Power closure sensor system 200 includesa microprocessor 210 or other data processing device. Coupled tomicroprocessor 210 are a proximity sensor 220, a position sensor 230,and a closer motor 240. Closer motor 240 is mechanically coupled toclosure member 250 (where closure member 250 may be, but is not limitedto, window 170). Proximity sensor 220 may be any of a variety of sensingdevices such as, but not limited to, infrared sensing devices,ultrasonic sensing devices, capacitive sensing devices, other opticalsensing devices, and other electromagnetic sensing devices. Proximitysensor 220 is configured to provide an electrical signal tomicroprocessor 210 representative of the location of an object withoutrequiring that the object contact either the closure member or theframe. Position sensor 230 may be any of a variety of position sensors,such as, but not limited to, rotary potentiometer sensors, magneticsensors, and other optical and/or electromagnetic sensors, which all areconfigured to provide an electrical signal representative of therelative position of closure member 250. Closer motor 240 may be any ofa variety of motors or other transport systems that are used to moveclosure member 250 in a powered or power assisted manner. Closure member250 may be any of a variety of closure members, such as, but not limitedto, windows, doors, lids, trunk covers, sliding doors, lift gates, decklids, hatchbacks, lift glass, tailgates, trunk lids, tonneau covers, andthe like. Further, system 200 may be utilized in any of a variety ofother types of situations not limited to vehicle or automotiveapplications, such as, but not limited to, buildings, appliances, andany other types of applications in which a powered closure mechanism isutilized.

[0019] Capacitive sensor arrays are known and have been used for avariety of sensing applications. Various variations of capacitivesensors have been used, all responding to the interference of theelectric fields caused by the presence of a person or object. Thecapacitive sensor may include dual opposing electrodes creating anelectric field between the electrodes, a single electrode whichcapacitively couples to the vehicle frame or other surface, a singleelectrode that capacitively couples to a person or object who isgrounded to the vehicle, parallel electrodes which are spatiallyseparated, dual adjacent planar electrodes where one electrode is drivenby an oscillator and the adjacent electrode capacitively couples to thedriven electrode to create a sensing field, among other possibleconfigurations. Although there are a variety of different capacitivesensing devices, any sensing device which provides sensing of an objectand does not require contact of the object to the closure member or theclosure member's frame may be applied and remain within the scope of theclaims.

[0020] In operation, proximity sensor 220 senses the location of anobject. Position sensor 230 locates the position of closure member 250.Each of the readings from sensors 220 and 230 are communicated tomicroprocessor 210. Microprocessor 210 includes a logic program whichcomputes an estimate of the location of the object relative to theclosable member. Such logic may be in any of a variety of formats,including, but not limited to, heuristic methods, experimentally basedrules, fuzzy logic, neural networks, and the like. If the program logicdetermines that the object is within a sensitivity range, or that therelative position of the object dictates that the object may be trappedor pinched by the closing of the closure member, microprocessor 210sends a signal to closer motor 240 which acts to stop and/or reverse theclosure motor which in turn stops or reverses the direction of closuremember 250.

[0021] Referring now to FIG. 3, a flow diagram 300 of a closure sensorsystem process is depicted. A measurement of the location of an objectis made (step 310) by proximity sensor 220. Further, a measurement ofthe position of closure member 250 (step 320) is made by position sensor230. These measurements are communicated to microprocessor 210 and therelative position of the object with respect to the closure member 240is computed (step 330). A decision is then made in microprocessor 210 asto whether the object is within a certain sensitivity range such aswhether the object is within a pinching range (step 340). If the objectis determined to be within a pinching range, the closer motor 240 iscommanded to stop (step 350) and/or to reverse direction. However, ifthe object is determined to be outside of the pinching range, theposition of the object is continued to be monitored and new measurementsof the object are taken in step 310 and the process is repeated.

[0022] While the detailed drawings, specific examples and particularformulations given describe preferred and exemplary embodiments, theyserve the purpose of illustration only. The inventions disclosed are notlimited to the specific forms shown. For example, the methods may beperformed in any of a variety of sequence of steps. The hardware andsoftware configurations shown and described may differ depending on thechosen performance characteristics and physical characteristics of thecomputing devices. For example, the type of computing device,communications bus, or processor used may differ. The systems andmethods depicted and described are not limited to the precise detailsand conditions disclosed. Furthermore, other substitutions,modifications, changes, and omissions may be made in the design,operating conditions, and arrangement of the exemplary embodimentswithout departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A power closure sensor system, comprising: a dataprocessing device; a closer motor in communication with the dataprocessing device and controlling the movement of a closable memberrelative to a frame; a proximity sensor, configured to sense thelocation of an object, the proximity sensor in communication with thedata processing device and the proximity sensor configured to sense theobject location when the object does not contact the closable member orthe frame member directly; a position sensor, configured to sense theposition of the closable member, the position sensor in communicationwith the data processing device; and a logic program running on the dataprocessing device and configured to generate an estimate of the locationof the object relative to the closable member.
 2. The power closuresensor system of claim 1, wherein the closable member is a vehiclewindow.
 3. The power closure sensor system of claim 1, wherein theclosable member is a vehicle door.
 4. The power closure sensor system ofclaim 1, wherein the proximity sensor is a capacitive sensor.
 5. Thepower closure sensor system of claim 1, wherein the proximity sensor isan infrared sensor.
 6. The power closure sensor system of claim 1,wherein the logic program includes a neural network.
 7. The powerclosure sensor system of claim 1, wherein the logic program includes afuzzy logic program.
 8. A method of preventing a powered closable memberfrom closing, the closable member supported by a frame comprising:determining the location of an object using a proximity sensor, theobject having no direct contact with at least one of the closable memberand the frame; determining the position of the closable member;computing the location of the closable member relative to the object;determining that the object is within a predetermined range relative tothe closable member; stopping a closing motor from advancing theclosable member.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the closable memberis a vehicle window.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the closablemember is a vehicle door.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein theproximity sensor is a capacitive sensor.
 12. The method of claim 8,wherein the proximity sensor is an infrared sensor.
 13. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the logic program includes a neural network.
 14. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the logic program includes a fuzzy logicprogram.
 15. A power closure sensor system for a vehicle, comprising: adata processing device; a closer motor in communication with the dataprocessing device and controlling the movement of a closable member onthe vehicle relative to a frame for the closable member; a capacitivesensor, configured to sense the location of an object, the capacitivesensor in communication with the data processing device, the capacitivesensor enabled to sense the relative location of the object when theobject does not touch the closable member or the frame; a positionsensor, configured to sense the position of the closable member, theposition sensor in communication with the data processing device; and alogic program running on the data processing device and configured togenerate an estimate of the location of the object relative to theclosable member.
 16. The power closure sensor system of claim 15,wherein the closable member is a vehicle window.
 17. The power closuresensor system of claim 15, wherein the closable member is a vehicledoor.
 18. The power closure sensor system of claim 15, wherein the logicprogram includes a neural network.
 19. The power closure sensor systemof claim 15, wherein the logic program includes a fuzzy logic program.20. The power closure sensor system of claim 15, wherein the estimate ofthe location of the object is compared with a sensitivity range todetermine whether closing of the closable member should be terminated.